Related Media

TRUCKEE, Calif. — It’s not every day you come across a rock music legend stranded in the Sierra.

But that’s what happened on Friday, Aug. 23, when singer-songwriter Neil Young’s one-of-a-kind, $1 million hybrid electric vehicle broke down on Interstate 80 near Donner Summit.

Officers with the Truckee branch of the California Highway Patrol came upon the stranded Young and helped him get the remastered 1959 Lincoln Continental off the highway.

After posing for a few photos and signing autographs, Young repaired the custom-built LincVolt car and was back on the road, said CHP Public Information Officer Pete Mann.

The car is touted as the world’s first full-sized luxury series hybrid electric car powered by biomass, according to the LincVolt website. Learn more at www.lincvolt.com.

The Toronto native told CHP he drives the LincVolt across North America promoting green, sustainable living and encouraging less dependency on oil. He was on his way to a green festival in Canada, he told officers.

Young — whose full name is Neil Percival Young — is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer both as a solo artist and as a member of Buffalo Springfield.

He is best-known for the songs “Heart of Gold,” Down by the River,” “Cowgirl in the Sand,” “Ohio” and “Rockin’ In The Free World,” among several other major hits.